Why is the red dress the symbol of women and heart disease?In 2003, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the American Heart Association and other organizations committed to women’s health joined together to raise awareness of women and heart disease. The NHLBI introduced the red dress as a national symbol for women and heart disease awareness and the American Heart Association adopted this symbol to create synergy among all organizations committed to fighting this cause.

By working together to advance this important cause, the American Heart Association, NHLBI, and other women’s health groups will have a greater impact than any one group could have alone.

My question is, why are the federal government and the AHA only this deeply invested in prevention of heart disease when it comes to women's health? There is no men's heart disease page nor for that matter is there a federal "Men's Health" agency as there is a Women's Health agency.

SoldierAndrew

Happy Member

posted: Jan. 3, 2013 @ 9:53a

Thanks, OP.

sLinktastic

Graceful Member

posted: Jan. 3, 2013 @ 10:36a

GreenTrash said: My question is, why are the federal government and the AHA only this deeply invested in prevention of heart disease when it comes to women's health? There is no men's heart disease page nor for that matter is there a federal "Men's Health" agency as there is a Women's Health agency.

I'm sorry I don't have your answer- perhaps that would be a good subject to appeal to the NHLBI? Or you can even start a Men's Heart Disease/Prevention page on Facebook? I would be interested.

handsgo

Handsome Member

posted: Jan. 3, 2013 @ 11:19a

Thank you so much for your request for a Go Red For Women red dress pin. We count on individuals like you to spread the word about this deadly disease. We will be sending your pin in the next 3-6 weeks.

Thanks OP!

SweetClover

More awesome!!!

posted: Jan. 3, 2013 @ 12:44p

GreenTrash said: My question is, why are the federal government and the AHA only this deeply invested in prevention of heart disease when it comes to women's health? There is no men's heart disease page nor for that matter is there a federal "Men's Health" agency as there is a Women's Health agency.

I'll give you a theory as to why; it's common knowledge that Heart Disease is prevalent among men, but for a long time, women were thought to be more protected by it, so therefore not as prevalent. There is some truth to that, in that female hormones offer some sort of protection to the heart; but once women hit menopause, this protection no longer applies, and post-menopausal women are just as much at risk as men are. A lot of women aren't aware of that, and therefore are not getting the screening they should be getting starting in their 40's, when peri-menopause starts. So the feds and AHA joined forces to get the word out to women, don't assume because you aren't a male, that you are less likely to develop heart disease. Don't assume that you don't have to pay attention to risk factors like men have always been told to do, because you are female. Smoking cigarettes has always been a risk factor for both sexes, but only women smoke while using oral contraceptives, which puts them at a higher risk of heart attack and stroke while still fairly young, yet many women do not know this. Women have often been the one's making sure that the men in their lives are getting screened, but don't get screened themselves for heart disease because they've been led to believe it wasn't necessary. That false idea needs to be changed, and along with the breast and reproductive health screenings women have been urged to get, they should be screened starting in their 40's for heart-related problems, and earlier if they are smokers on oral contraceptives. Women tend to have different symptoms than men do, and are more likely to delay getting medical intervention because they fail to recognize symptoms; the result is that Heart Disease is now the #1 killer of women, yet the average female is likely to think that cancer (especially breast cancer) is the #1 killer.

afreind

Member

posted: Jan. 3, 2013 @ 7:05p

Thank you OP!

jammigal

Tired Member

posted: Jan. 5, 2013 @ 10:44p

The women's heart health initiative was started because most of the original studies were done in men. Historically more men suffered from heart disease or so the medical establishment thought. Within the last twenty years, the incidence of heart disease in women increased and it was noted that the signs were often different from those seen in men. This was started to promote research in heart health for women and to raise awareness in women about the symptoms of heart disease and the signs of an impending heart attack.There is really no need for a similar initiative for men, you know what the signs are when you are having a heart attack, do you know what they are in a woman? It's not sexism or discriminatory but correcting a long time wrong.

jshanebrook

New Member

posted: Jan. 7, 2013 @ 2:52p

I work in a dental office of 5women and 1 Doctor. We are going to participate the month of Feb. in the "Go Red" campaign. Is there any way I could get ahold of 6 of these pins so we could wear them for that month? It would be so greatly appreciated. jshanebrook@yahoo.com

RebeccaCulbertson

New Member

posted: Jan. 9, 2013 @ 9:31a

Thank you! I always love when "What Not to Wear" makes over women who are speakers with the Go Red for Women campaign. They're very big on promoting that there really aren't any consistent signs of heart attack in women (no left arm going numb, tight chest, etc.)and that heart disease is the number one killer of women. Glad to join the campaign!

SweetClover

More awesome!!!

posted: Jan. 9, 2013 @ 12:19p

jshanebrook said: I work in a dental office of 5women and 1 Doctor. We are going to participate the month of Feb. in the "Go Red" campaign. Is there any way I could get ahold of 6 of these pins so we could wear them for that month? It would be so greatly appreciated. XXXXXXXXXX@yahoo.com

It's unlikely than users of this forum are going to be able to help you, we just post, sign-up for, and discuss the freebie deals. I would suggest you contact the American Heart Association, at either http://www.goredforwomen.org/ or http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/ or toll-free at 1-800-AHA-USA-1 or 1-800-242-8721. I would think they'd happily accommodate your request.

Also, it's a bad idea to post information such as email addresses, personal phone #'s and addresses in an open forum like this. Bots that crawl the internet look for information like this, and add it to spam, telemarketer and junk mail lists, which are then sold. I suggest you click the "Edit" button in your post, and remove your email (I made it generic in the quote of your post).

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